Improved steering apparatus



E. S. OOFFIN STEERING APPARATUS.

No. 61,052. v Patented Jan: 8, 1867 gums tatzs gaunt ffin.

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TO ALL WHQM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, EBENS. Oorrm, of Boston, in the county of Susan, and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful improvement in Steering-Wheels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enabl others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which the figure is a. top view of a portion of a vessels deck. illustrating my invention.

When steering-wheels as ordinarily constructed hold the tiller amidships, each rope leading from the end of the tiller to the quarter-blocks may be considered as the chord of the segment of a circle, the two ropes making an obtuse angle with each other. Now, when, by turning the wheel, the tiller is moved to either side of the deck, one of said chords is somewhat lengthened and the other much more shortened, so that the combined length of the two chords in the latter case is much less than their combined length when thetiller was amidships. The efiect of this is to slacken the tiller ropes, allowing so much uncontrollable play to the tiller. This has always been foundto be-a great annoyance, especially in a rough sea, the tendency oi" the tiller at such times, by its sudden thrusting motion, being to take the tiller out of the helmsmans control and making his labor exceedingly toilsome and dangerous. My invention. consists, first, in so constructing. the barrel of the wheel that those portions'of said barrel upon which the ropes are wound when moving the tiller from amidships may have an increasing diameter, and those portions from which the ropes are unwound, a decreasing diameter, so as to keep the tiller ropes atall times equally taut; second, in giving a longitudinal movement to the barrel, so that it shall move forward or aft with each revolution udistance equal to the diamete'r'of the wheel rope/accusing the said rope to always enter upon and leave the said barrel at the same distance from the bearings of the barrelshaft;.and third, in securing the 'quarter hlQcks which lead the ropes to the wheel at such different distances abaft the rudder-post, that each block may always lead its rope to that portion of the barrel upon which it is to be wolfnd, in a direction at right angles to the axis of said barrel. The whole being constructed and arranged as hereinafter more fully set forth.

A represents the deck of a vessel; B, the rudder-post; and C, the tiller, about the construction of which parts there is nothing new. D is the steering-wheel, which is attached to the end of the shaft E, or about threeei'ghths of its length forward of" its after end, which latter position I prefer. The said shaft works-in bearings e and c and has a screw-thread formedi upon its end e, as shown in the drawing. The distance between the threads-of the screw c is equal to the diameter of the wheel rope F, so that at each revolution of the wheel D, the shaft E may be moved forward or aft a distance equal to the diameters? said rope Fl is-thebarrel,

attached to or formed upon the shaft E, upon which the ropes F are wound, and from which they are unwound in steering the vessel. The barrelG is made inthe form shown in the drawing, that is to say, with a gradually increasing diameter frbm its ends towards its middle part. This taper or. gradually increasing diameter of the barrel G should be exactly graduated to the tendency of the ropes F to slacken in moving the tiller from amidships towards either side of the vessel, so that the said ropes maybe at all times equally taut. One end of each of the ropes F is secured to the barrel G at its opposite ends then winding the necessary number of turns around the barrel, they-pass thence around the pulleys in the quarter-blocks H, thence around thepulleys in the tiller-blocks I, and their ends are secured to some fixed support conveniently placed. Or the endsnof the ropes may be attached directly to the end of the tiller 0; the number of pulleys and blocks employed being entirelyimmaterial, and depending upon the character of the vessel and of the navigation in which she is to be used. The quarter-blocks H must be secured at such difi'erent distances abai't the rudder post B, that the ropes will always pass from said blocks H to the, barrel G in a direction atright angles to the axis of said barrel, while being wound thereon. And the movement of the barrel G and shaft E at the same time forward or aft, according to the direction in which the rope is being, wound, efi'ectually guards against any tendency of the turns of said rope to ride upon each other.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination and arrangement of the screw-shaft E, barrel-G, ropes F, quarter-blocks H', tiller 0,, and rudder-post B, in the manner as and. for the purpose specified.-

2. Giving a longitudinal movement to the barrel G, and shaft E, so-that the said barrel may move forward or aft at each turn of the wheel D, a distance equal to the diameter of'the wheel rope F, substantially as=herein shown and described and for the purpose set forth,

EBEN S. GOFFIN. 

